Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to home media servers. More particularly, the present invention relates to home media server content management and processing.
Discussion of the Related Art
Consumers are beginning to own home media servers or set-top boxes (such as TiVo) that have powerful media processing capabilities. These units are capable of downloading content over networks and digitally recording many hours of movies, television programs, music, game software, advertisements, etc. Consumers will soon own large libraries of television and other content for their personal enjoyment.
Already, the set-top box is becoming a popular adjunct to TV viewing. Acting as an intelligent personal video recorder, a set-top box can “pause” broadcast video, receive TV listings, and store and display directed advertising. The several technologies that enable the disclosed invention, including video editing software, are well known to those skilled in the art.
Media producers today produce content and then distribute it to the public. Television producers shoot video, record voiceovers, license historical clips, etc., and distribute the resulting edited content to the public via various media. Likewise, music is produced in a studio, using live musicians or licensed musical samples, and distributed on compact discs or digitally over the Internet. These are costly methods of media production.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved method of producing media products at low cost that enables consumers to re-use home content as raw materials.